


You Might Think

by petersfeather



Series: Let's Hear It for the Boy [1]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: ??? - Freeform, F/M, Fix-It, Fluff, Humor, M/M, No Plot/Plotless, Post Season 3, Post-Canon Fix-It, Season 3 Spoilers, but we're ignoring some major plot points, i did my best to be funny, i'm not even joking, legit no plot at all, one big happy weird as fuck family, sorta - Freeform, this is fluff and humor and that's literally it, we're not ignoring all of S3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-07-10
Packaged: 2020-06-26 02:39:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19758904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/petersfeather/pseuds/petersfeather
Summary: ~** Season 3 Spoilers Sorta Kinda **~Everyone's alive and Murray and Alexei are the weird uncles who Joyce feels obligated to invite over sometimes bc they nearly killed them all.





	You Might Think

**Author's Note:**

> hi so i wrote this on and off for a few days bc I wanted to write and finish something. i wrote a headcanon on tumblr and people liked it so here's something a bit more formal. I'm posting it here bc I wanted to feel accomplished or something.
> 
> there's no plot here, my dears, it's just the big ol' cute weird family of Hopper and his kids and Joyce and her kids + their weird uncles (Alexei and Murray). Just a fluffy fix it.
> 
> (btw the idea is that Hopper has adopted Billy bc fuck Neil Hargrove)(also Joyce and Hopper are together)
> 
> Enjoy this silly and ridiculous fluffy stuff ♥
> 
> ((title from a song of the same name by The Cars))

It’s a late Thursday afternoon nearing the end of summer, the balmy weather and the late sun making the pain and anxieties of this past summer in Hawkins fade away so much quicker than the little family could ever hope for. The wounds will be fresh for a while, but the sun seeping in through the windows and the satisfying warmth of it makes most of the fear melt away like ice cream.

Joyce opens the door to Murray the Conspiracy Theorist with 2 cherry slurpees in hand and Alexei the Russian Scientist with 3. Alexei’s smile is splitting his face as he holds the drinks up a little higher and says something in Russian.

Joyce turns her smiling confusion Murray, who gives a tired grin.

“He says they’re for your kids. He insisted on buying your children cherry slurpees.”

“Oh! They’ll love them.” Joyce assures, giving Alexei a kind smile as she takes a couple of them off his hands and passes them around, putting one in the fridge for an absent Billy.

Even in the calm of the moment, Joyce and Hopper share a similar feeling of nervousness at their current guests. They introduce the two men to the kids with an expected difficulty, but it goes off about as smoothly as it possibly could and a couple of minutes later, here they are.

Murray the Conspiracy Theorist is currently speaking to Will and Jonathan about a plethora of crazy theories, the boys listening intently.

“There’s no doubt that they’re in contact with them but the question is why?”

“Mmhm, definitely.” Jonathan nods, sharing a wry glance with Will as they both chuckle quietly. The man is an absolute nut, but it’s entertaining to listen to. And hey… stranger things have happened than aliens conversing with the government somewhere in Nevada.

Alexei is on the couch with El, the two of them sipping their slurpees and looking at the TV intently. She’s bouncing a bit with her feet tucked under her as she watches Alexei flip through channels, the man mumbling Russian to himself every now and then and El getting a little irritated as he keeps skipping past her favorite soap operas.

 _This is... nice._ Joyce thinks to herself from her spot next to Hopper as they lean against one of the kitchen counters.

It’s not like it’s not incredibly nice. Something about this feels so oddly comfortable. It’s just… strange. Inviting over a crazed and (typically) drunken conspiracy theorist and his Russian (former) mad scientist… friend? Into their little home with 4 lightly traumatized children? It’s not like they can’t both admit that this is so, _so_ strange.

It took a bit of convincing on Joyce’s part to get Hopper to not throw a fit at the thought of the two men coming into their home, but she reminded him that they dragged these two men through a crazy adventure of being shot at and shooting at others and Joyce really feels that it’s the least they could do to invite the two of them over for dinner or something every now and then. Plus, she likes Alexei’s smile and thinks Hopper treated him poorly the first time around.

Murray is just getting into the dangers of new technology when a gasp comes from the couch. Alexei’s pointing to the TV, smiling widely and saying something in Russian.

El turns to look at him then, confusion written all over her face.

“Looney Tunes.” She points to the TV too.

Alexei turns his attention to her, eyebrow furrowing a bit at her, saying the same words in Russian.

They go back and forth a couple of times. Hopper stands in the kitchen, leaning forward on the counter and squinting his eyes at the scene because how the _fuck_ is his little 14 year old girl going to speak to this Russian man? _He_ couldn’t even speak to this Russian man.

But when it comes to El’s turn again, she doesn’t speak English. El starts to mimic the sounds that the man is saying to her, albeit with quite a bit of difficulty.

Alexei’s eyes absolutely _light up_ at the little girl. This is the first person who has attempted to speak his mother tongue that isn’t Murray, and yes the words are very butchered, but she’s trying! She’s actually trying! He turns a bit towards her, nodding along to encourage her to keep trying. Someone not forcing him to speak English but rather trying to speak to him in a language he understands? He can’t believe this!

She tries again, tongue fumbling over the new sounds, but they both giggle away the errors so it’s fine. After a few attempts, Alexei attempts her English words too, and the two are smiling and laughing at their fumbled language.

“Hop look!” Joyce whispers as she smacks his arm repeatedly, as if he hasn’t been watching raptly in confused amazement. He just rubs his arm and nods to try to get her to stop.

After a fit of giggles, Alexei turns back to the TV, pointing at Woody Woodpecker on the screen and saying something else in Russian. He then turns to look at El again, saying a whole sentence that she has no hope of understanding.

So she looks to Murray, who she notices is looking at the man the same way that Hopper looks at Joyce and vice versa. The same way Mike looks at her after they kiss. The same way Max looks at Lucas when he’s turned away after a really bad joke.

“He said it’s his favorite. That he won him in a rigged game.”

El knows all but one of the words.

“What’s... rigged?” She asks. It takes Murray a second to understand her question.

“Rigged is… when something is set up for you to lose. But he won anyway.”

El is immediately impressed, eyes going wide and turning back to Alexei, who is watching the television again.

“You won!” She says through a smile. He turns to see her holding a thumbs up to him, and he gives one back.

It’s then that the front door swings open and two tall boys holding hands and smiling goofily stumble in before freezing in the doorway. They stare at the group like they’ve been caught in the act. They bring the faint smell of weed in with them.

“Hey.” Billy greets them awkwardly. Everyone is staring and Billy takes in the sight of everyone + 2 strange men. Steve slips his hand out of Billy’s to absently rub on his jeans. “I brought my boyfriend home.”

“Billy!” Steve yells indignantly, eyes shifting across everyone’s faces. “He’s just joking, we’re not-”

“I told you, they know already, princess.” Billy sighs on a smirk. “You don’t have to pretend anymore.”

“Oh.” Steve’s face goes red.

Jonathan just smirks around his straw, shaking his head and chuckling along with Joyce and Hopper. Will blushes at it, still always turning cherry red at seeing Billy being so happily gay with his boyfriend.

“So… who are they?” Billy asks with about as much tact as Billy typically has around strangers.

Joyce and Hopper flail to explain.

“Billy this is Murray and his… friend? Alexei.” Joyce gestures vaguely to them both. Alexei turns away from the TV when he hears his name. “They’re… friends of ours.”

Jonathan and Will sip at their slurpees, watching their mother fumble through her explanation.

It’s then that Alexei gives a Russian greeting, waving at the two and asking Murray something, to which he responds back in Russian and gestures towards Billy.

“Woah, wait, they’re Russian?” Steve immediately asks, confused and on guard.

“Well…”

“Alexei is. And he says there’s a slurpee in the fridge for you.” Murray gives Billy an unamused look.

“How the hell did you meet 2 Russian men?” Steve asks as Billy walks over to the fridge, ruffling Will’s hair on his way.

“They helped us. Back in July.” Hopper tries his hand at explaining. It confuses Steve more.

“The Russians _helped_ you? Aren’t they the enemy?”

“There are no enemies on the day that you acknowledge the humanity that lies within every one of us.” Murray preaches suddenly, giving a very serious look to a more than confused Steve before turning adoring eyes to the Russian man on the couch.

There’s a beat of silence, everyone shifting their gaze between Murray and Steve.

Billy licks the cherry syrup from his lips.

“Welp! This was fun. Steve and I are going to be in my room.” Billy grabs Steve by his sleeve and pulls him towards the back of the house. “Thank your Russian boyfriend for me.”

Murray can only sputter.

“3 inches!” Hopper calls out to the retreating pair.

“I’m not 14! I know what condoms are!” Billy calls behind him, leaving Steve to choke on a laugh at the blatant words. “Plus I don’t think you’re going to see either of us getting pregnant.”

“Ew, stop!” El yells from the couch, a laugh in her words.

“I’d keep your eye on your precious John-boy, though.” Billy turns to face the living room, giving Hopper a sly grin and a wink towards Jonathan before disappearing into his room, leaving Steve to stand in the hall.

“Hey! Shut up, Billy!” Jonathan calls, face redder than his drink.

And there stands an awkward Steve at the end of the hall. He’s fiddling a bit with his jeans as he gives a smile to the family, fully aware that his boyfriend just made it painfully clear that they’re going to fuck.

“Uh… it was nice to see you guys. As always.”

A hand from inside of Billy’s room reaches out and pulls him in. The door shuts audibly and about a minute later there’s heavy rock music playing loudly from the room.

Hopper sighs.

~~~

20 minutes later and they’re all basically in the same spot, when the music stops playing from Billy’s room. The tape must have ended.

It takes only a second before there’s a very clear, very audible groan-like scream that comes from the back of the house. Everyone freezes, save for El, who tilts her head to look down the hall in concern before realization dawns on her face.

She turns towards Will, stating almost excitedly: “Happy screams!”

Jonathan legitimately chokes on the last of his slurpee, cracking up laughing in-between labored breaths as Joyce rushes to get him a glass of water. Will’s face has never been more red, his eyes wide and body nearly frozen. Murray and Alexei just exchange an amused smirk at the sound.

Hopper’s just about on the brink of an aneurysm as he ushers El and Will out with the excuse of getting some sunshine before dinner. It’s moments like this where he thinks he might actually regret having children. Maybe. But he does know that whoever tricked him into loving the 4 little bastards played a real dirty trick.

**Author's Note:**

> i have 3 WIPs right now so posting something (even this small) makes me feel a little better about myself.
> 
> i'm on tumblr @pointeful (my main blog) or @okaybutlikeimagine (my harringrove headcanon side blog) if you wanna come yell at me about stuff 
> 
> thanks so much for reading and i love your soul ♥


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